Ninety One UK Ltd Acquires 32,842 Shares of Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in Fortis (FTS) by 34.6% in Q4, purchasing 32,842 shares to hold 127,809 shares worth $6.654 million, according to its SEC filing.
• Fortis declared a quarterly dividend of $0.64 (annualized $2.56) representing a 4.5% yield, with an ex-dividend date of May 15 and a payout ratio of 77.05%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $72 average target (5 Buy, 5 Hold); Fortis reported Q EPS of $0.65 (beating $0.62) while revenue missed at $2.13B versus $2.54B expected.

Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 34.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 127,809 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,842 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in Fortis were worth $6,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. LOM Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Fortis during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Fortis by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Fortis by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Fortis by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 37,562 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its position in Fortis by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 6,784 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FTS. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortis has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Fortis Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE FTS opened at $56.86 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $56.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.43. Fortis has a 12 month low of $45.87 and a 12 month high of $58.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.24%.The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Fortis's payout ratio is 77.05%.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc is a Canadian diversified electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through a portfolio of regulated utility subsidiaries, the company develops, owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission, distribution and generation assets. Fortis serves customers across multiple jurisdictions in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, focusing on the delivery of safe, reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial users.

The company's core activities include operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution networks, ownership of generation facilities, and investment in grid modernization and system resilience.

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